Famed Houston Guitarist Dies at 105

Huey Long was just a country kid out of Sealy,Texas when shoe shine savings earned outside Houston's Rice Hotel bought him his first banjo.

The aspiring musician was soon good enough to take his strings north to Chicago, the first leg in a musical journey spanning much of the last century.

During a 2005 interview with Fox 26 news Long recalled clearly his mother's final message.

"Wear your long underwear, stay warm and be a good boy."

Long was good all right, on the guitar.

In the decades that followed his licks accompanied legends Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn.

It be would 1945 before fame truly came calling Huey Long.
That was the year he was invited to join the Ink Spots, a long running quartet whose romantic melodies sold millions.

"All songs people could relate to in life," Long recalled in 2005.

In the years since long played many roles - performer, composer, educator, musical ambassador. Daughter Anita Long says her father was always eager to share, a willingness that seemed to only expand here in houston his second century of living.

"He just loved people. He just gave everything, he gave as much as he could give," says Anita who manages the Huey Long Museum in Houston's Heights neighborhood.

"He just has so many people who love him, who truly love him and that's the beauty of it," she added, her voice choked with emotion.

While Long was rich in friends and experiences his daughter says he had few worldly assets.

Anita Long says she's struggling to raise money for her father's funeral.

In the 2005 interview, when asked about his longevity, Long offered this explanation.

"You get to know that there are many things that is good to you, but not good for you. So I do things in moderation."